Saturday, January 3, 2009

Always Ask! Can't save money if you don't Ask.

I learned a very important lesson this week. Well actually I always knew the lesson but I was reminded this week and that reminder saved me $450. One of the sensor lights went off on my Mini today. My heart sank when I looked it up in the manual and realized it was my brake pads.

Brake pads are expensive and gone are the days where I use to do it myself. I lived in SE Michigan, everyone knew how to change brake pads in the BIG 3 Territory. But to make it an even more bitter pill to swallow, I had brought my car in for a check up just 1000 miles ago just before my warranty ended. I had hoped that the service would catch anything then and the dealership would have to pay.

I called the dealership and told them that 1. my light went off, 2. why didn't they catch this when my warranty was expiring and 3. is there anything that can be done. After a very logical explanation from the manager on why he couldn't change pads before the sensor light went off, he followed up with the magic words, "As an act of good will, we will take care of this for you". Sigh as the $450 magically disappeared from my credit card statement.

If I didn't ask, I wouldn't have gotten it. This applies to possible late charges from credit cards, late fees from bills, bounce checks any thing that may or may not be your fault. If you
don't ask, you won't find out if they can waive the fee.

The easiest way to save money is to ask if you have to pay for it.

Asking may be a bit awkward but to save $450, I'll always ask.

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